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    Divorce of Tulsa Law Office

    Child Support

    Oklahoma child support payments

    Oklahoma child support payments last until your child turns 18 years old.

    During that time, you may find that you cannot keep up with the payments.

    Not paying your child support in Tulsa is a potentially serious legal matter.

    However, if you are truly in a challenging situation, you have options.

    One of them is to file a modification form to lower your Oklahoma child support payments.

    FAQ: Oklahoma Child Support Payments

    If you can no longer keep up with your child support payments, you can file a petition for a child support modification.

    Your petition must demonstrate that you have had a permanent and substantial change in circumstances. These circumstances may include the loss of a job or becoming injured.

    The Tulsa family court will likely grant the petition, as long as you have met this legal standard.

    However, a child support modification will not apply to any back child support that you owe.

    For example, if you owe $5,000 in back child support but cannot pay it because you lost your job, your modification will not apply to the back support.

    You will still owe $5,000, but your payments going forward will be reduced.

    Low-cost Initial Consultation: Tulsa Child Support Attorney

    For a low-cost consultation about child support orders, enforcement or modifications, call the Divorce of Tulsa Law Office today at 918-924-5526.

    Oklahoma child support computations

    A common question among parents who are getting a divorce, or were never married, regards Tulsa, Oklahoma child support computations.

    However, many factors determine how much child support will be owed. Expenses and income are just two of the possible factors.

    Custody may, at times, become a part of Oklahoma child support computations.

    FAQ: Oklahoma Child Support Computations

    Although many believe that “child support” means that all of child’s financial needs are paid for by whichever parent has the most money, this is not the case in Oklahoma.

    Here, the law presumes that both parents have a child support obligation. Under this presumption, both parents must contribute financially to their child.

    However, because a custodial parent has the child most of the time, the law assumes they make financial contributions directly to the child.

    For example, if Michael lives with his mom, the law presumes that she contributes to his financial needs by buying groceries and clothing, as well as paying for his educational and other expenses. In doing so, she contributes to him directly.

    The dad, however, does not directly contribute financially to his son because they are not together most of the time.

    This is why the dad will pay child support to the mom, who must use that money to Michael’s benefit.

    For this reason, Oklahoma child support computations are calculated based on both parents’ income. For example, if the mom makes $2,500 and the dad makes $4,000, Michael’s child rearing costs are a percentage of $6,500.

    Based on their respective incomes, the dad contributes about 60% of Michael’s child rearing costs and the mom contributes about 40%.

    Essentially, the law strives to enable Michael to live the same lifestyle he would if both of his parents were together.

    Child support is not necessarily based on his actual financial expenditures, but his overall lifestyle.

    This is why the mom can use the dad’s child support payment to pay bills, car notes and rent—these are all things that benefit Michael.

    Child Custody and Child Support

    Although child custody and child support are determined separately, there is a presumption that one parent is the custodial parent and one is the noncustodial parent. This is why, in the scenario above, the dad pays the mom child support.

    Sometimes, though, both parents share physical custody of their children. This means that both parents directly contribute about half of the time each to Michael’s financial needs.

    Oklahoma provides an adjustment for such instances. Thus, Michael’s dad will likely not be required to pay as much child support to Michael’s mom.

    The law would assume that he is spending a greater portion of his obligation directly on Michael.

    If Michael’s mom is still the primary custodial parent, but Michael’s dad shares joint custody with her, this would not affect his child support obligation.

    Legal custody is the ability to make decisions regarding your child’s religion, education, extracurricular activities, medical care, etc. It does not affect the amount of parenting time you have with your children.

    Because of this, joint legal custody would have no effect on your child support obligation.

    Low-cost Initial Consultation: Tulsa Child Custody Attorney

    Child custody can be tricky, especially as it relates to Oklahoma child support computations.

    If you are unsure of whether you are entitled to a child support adjustment due to an increase in parenting time, contact an experienced Tulsa child support attorney.

    For a low-cost consultation, call Divorce of Tulsa Law Office today at 918-924-5526.

    ex does not pay child support

    In Tulsa, Oklahoma, you cannot refuse to allow child visitation if your ex does not pay child support.

    Legally, you have a duty to facilitate visitation between your ex and his child.

    Nonpayment of child support is not an acceptable reason to deny that visitation.

    What Can Happen if I Deny Visitation?

    If you deny visitation without good cause, your ex has the right to file a motion for enforcement of his or her visitation rights with the court clerk. If he does, you will receive a notice of hearing on the matter by certified mail.

    At that hearing, if the court finds that you have unreasonably denied or interfered with your ex’s visitation rights, the court has:

    1) the option of ordering a specific visitation schedule,

    2) compensating visitation for the time that was denied at the convenience of your ex,

    3) posting of a bond that you will lose if you do not comply,

    4)counseling or educational session attendance,

    5) supervised visitation,

    6) or some other remedy that the court finds appropriate.

    In addition, you could be charged with indirect contempt of court for violating your visitation order and assessed a fine of up to $500 and receive up to six months in jail.

    If your ex wins the case, you may also be required to pay his reasonable attorney fees, mediation costs and the court costs associated with the proceedings that resulted from your refusal to grant visitation.

    An exception to the above occurs if you can show good cause why you did not allow visitation.

    If you cannot show good cause and a pattern of failure to allow court-ordered visitation is found, the judge may determine that it is contrary to the best interests of the child and, as such, may modify the child custody order.

    When Can Visitation be Denied?

    Visitation cannot be denied without a court order unless you can show good cause to the court that visitation was contrary to the best interests of the child. For example, your ex wanted to transport your child while intoxicated, you have reason to believe that your ex is drinking or using drugs during visitation, or your child is being made a victim of child abuse or neglect.

    If you truly believe any of those things are occurring, you should speak with your attorney so that he or she can file a motion with the court to alter your child visitation order. If the court finds that you have good cause, it could order visitation suspended altogether.

    Effects of Denying Visitation on Your Children

    The courts in Oklahoma take visitation rights very seriously. State policy dictates that parents who act in the best interests of the child should have frequent and continuing contact and share the responsibilities and rights in rearing the child.

    Children need to know that their parents love and support them. When visitation is not allowed, they may feel abandoned and angry because they perceive that the parent no longer cares about them.

    Those feelings can result in children misbehaving and getting into trouble as a way of acting out their anger and seeking attention.

    What Can I Do If My Ex Does Not Pay Child Support?

    If your ex does not pay child support, you should speak with a Tulsa divorce attorney about filing an application for contempt. If your ex is found guilty of indirect contempt of court, the penalties for that charge could include up to six months in jail and a fine of not more than $500.

    The court may also suspend any licenses that your ex has that were issued by a licensing board. If he or she has not paid child support for a year or the amount owed is over $5,000, the court could convict him or her of a felony and issue a sentence of up to four years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

    As you can see, the penalties for not paying Oklahoma child support can be high.

    Low-cost Initial Consultation: Tulsa Divorce Attorney

    If your ex is not paying child support or you feel that your current child visitation arrangement is not in the best interest of your children, you should contact a qualified Tulsa divorce lawyer.

    The Divorce of Tulsa Law Office offers low-cost consultations to discuss your legal issues. Call 918-924-5526 to schedule your appointment today.

    child support Tulsa

    When you file for a divorce and you have minor children from the marriage, you will be required to pay child support Tulsa until the child reaches the age of 18 years. There are exceptions to that age limit under Oklahoma divorce law.

    If your child turns 18 years of age and is still in school or pursuing a GED diploma, you must pay child support until he or she is no longer in school or reaches the age of 20 years.

    If your child has a mental or physical disability and the disability, or the cause of the disability, occurred before the age of 18, the court has the authority to order that child support be paid indefinitely.

    How Does the Court Decide How Much Child Support Tulsa I Must Pay?

    Oklahoma law

    includes a Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations. That schedule takes into consideration the average amount that families spend on rearing their child on items including housing, food, clothing, entertainment, basic public education, and transportation between the homes of the parents.

    In a divorce action, those costs are divided between the parents based on their ability to pay. The court takes into consideration the gross income of each parent, including earned and passive income. Earned income includes wages, tips, commissions, bonuses, and severance and military pay.

    Passive income includes all other income such as, for example, dividends, pensions, rent, interest, trust, annuities, and social security or unemployment benefits.

    Oklahoma specifically excludes income from child support received for a different child that is not yours in the home, adoption assistance subsidies and benefits received from public assistance such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and food stamps, or income the child receives from any source including Social Security Income due to disability and trusts.

    The court may assign an income to you or the other parent if it determines that a parent is willfully or voluntarily underemployed based on education, training, ability to work and past employment. This means that the court will determine your income based on what you should be making.

    An exception occurs when the underemployment is for the purpose of continuing education or training that will ultimately benefit the child by increasing your level of support.

    Can I Change the Amount That I Pay?

    If circumstances change, you may petition the court to modify, suspend or terminate your child support obligation unless the support order contains a provision that requires periodic reviews and adjustments.

    Following are some examples of changes that may be justified causes for a reduction in your child support Tulsa obligation:

    • You are granted by the court or the other parent at least 121 overnight visitations during a 12 month period. This is called a parenting time adjustment.
    • Your income changes.
    • Changes occur in child care expenses, including educational costs.
    • Changes occur in the cost of medical or dental insurance.
    • Your child reaches the age of 18 or is no longer entitled to support by the support order.

    The above are examples. There may be other circumstances that would justify a reduction of your child support.

    Past due child support and interest cannot be modified and must be paid regardless of a change in the support order.

    The court will allow you to request a modification in your child support order pro se, or without an attorney. If you plan to do so, you should have an attorney review your documentation and explain the applicable laws.

    There is a chance that if you submit your request to the court and present your evidence, the judge could end up raising rather than lowering your child support Tulsa obligation.

    What Can I Do If I Believe My Child’s Other Parent is Now Making More Money?

    Either party has the right under Oklahoma law to send a written request to the other party for copies of the previous tax year W-2 and 1099 forms or other tax and wage information. The request must be filed with the court and served upon the other party by the county sheriff or a local process server.

    If the party that is obligated to supply that information in response to the request does not do so by certified mail within a specified number of days from, a motion to modify child support may be filed by the requesting parent. As a result, the court may award attorney fees and costs incurred as a result of the failure to respond.

    Low-cost Initial Consultation: Tulsa Divorce Attorney

    The above information is general facts and may not apply to your specific situation. If you have questions about your Oklahoma child support, you should contact a reputable divorce lawyer.

    You can request a low-cost consultation from Divorce of Tulsa Law Office by calling 918-924-5526 and scheduling an appointment.

    Oklahoma child supportDay care for your children can be very expensive and especially difficult for a single parent to afford. Read further to discover how the Oklahoma child support guidelines address day care expenses.

    How Day Care Expenses Factor Into Oklahoma Child Support

    The cost of day care can be a huge financial burden for the custodial parent after a divorce. The Oklahoma child support guidelines deal with this by adjusting the total amount of child support awarded to reflect the cost of daycare.

    Generally, each parent will contribute to the cost of day care according to their percentage of total parental income. For example, if parent A earns $60K per year and parent B earns $40k, parent A will be responsible for 60% of the cost of daycare and parent B will be responsible for 40%.

    Once each parent’s expected contribution to day care has been established, these amounts will be factored into the amount of child support to be awarded. For example, if the non-custodial parent is paying $600 per month in day care expenses and her individual contribution to the total amount of parental income is 25%, the non-custodial parent will be obliged to pay an additional $450 in child support.

    Sometimes, however, the cost of day care is not factored into the child support calculation. Often the parents may agree that they will each be individually responsible  for paying their proportionate share to the day care provider. This is often the case when one of the parents has some doubt about the other’s ability to be reliable in paying pay the day care provider and wants to prevent money that may be given for day care from being spent on other things.

    For more information on how Oklahoma child support calculations factor in other expenses such as the cost of healthcare for your children, contact an experienced Tulsa, Oklahoma divorce attorney.

    Low-cost Initial Consultation: Tulsa Child Support Attorney

    A qualified Oklahoma child support lawyer can assist in determining what amounts must be entered into a standard guideline. For a low-cost consultation about child support orders, enforcement or modifications, call Divorce of Tulsa Law Office today. For a low-cost confidential consultation, call now: (918) 924-5526.

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